Democrats want insurance coverage for mental health, substance abuse

Democrats in the Iowa Senate today called for legislation that would force insurance companies to cover treatment for mental health and substance abuse treatment. Senator Daryl Beall, a democrat from Fort Dodge, also wants the bill to require coverage of treatment for eating disorders. “Sometimes, the more comprehensive a bill is, you build up more enemies, but I see this as a way of building up allies as well because many of us have a daughter, a niece, a neighbor who has an eating disorder. It helps put a face on the issue,” Beall says. Beall says eating disorders are now the second-leading cause of death of young women in America, and it’s time to force the insurance industry to do more to save girls before it’s too late. In years past, the Iowa House has approved a bill that would force insurance companies to pay for mental health treatment, but the bill has always died in the Senate. The House has never voted to force insurance carriers to cover substance abuse counseling or treatment for eating disorders.